Turkish Grand Prix – Istanbul, 25th August 2006
Free practice - First session
Michael Schumacher: 2nd 1.28.777 4 laps chassis 255
Felipe Massa: 17th 1.31.904 5 laps chassis 252
Temperatures: air 30 °C, track 39/43 °C
Free practice – Second session
Felipe Massa: 2nd 1.28.164 18 laps chassis 252
Michael Schumacher: 6th 1.28.819 13 laps chassis 255
Temperatures: air 32 °C, track 49 °C
Jean Todt: “After a three week gap
without racing, the final rush of the championship getsunderway
here in Turkey. Last year, we were in serious difficulties
at this circuit but today thesituation seems to have improved.
With the usual provisos one has to take into account onFridays,
we can say that with the car-engine-Bridgestone tyre package
we have at ourdisposal, we seem to be quite competitive. Today,
as usual we have worked on tyre choice andon fine tuning the
car set-up. We are well aware how important is this Turkish
weekend interms of the fight for the two titles.”
Felipe Massa: “All in all a positive
day. We have worked a lot on tyre choice for the race andwe
have ended up with a pretty clear picture of the situation.
First impressions are that the caris well balanced. I am happy
about that and I am confident that we can be competitive.
Yes, it’sonly Friday but at least everything is in place
for me to feel this way.”
Michael Schumacher: “Today, I have
at last been able to find out how demanding this trackis.
Last year we were here with a package that was absolutely
not competitive, while today thesituation is completely different
and driving the 248 F1 on this track is really good fun. I
amquite satisfied with the way things went: the fact that
I set my fastest time at the end of thesession and therefore
on used tyres is certainly a good sign. I am confident and
hope tocontinue on this path tomorrow and Sunday. Clearly
the heat seems to suit us and our tyres.”
Ross Brawn: “It was a good day. We
got through some useful work with both drivers and wehave
a reasonably clear picture as far as the tyres are concerned.
Obviously, we have to takeinto account how the track conditions
will have changed by Sunday. The cars, fitted with newturning
vanes and air intakes on the rear brakes, ran trouble-free
and seemed to be wellbalanced. All things considered, we can
be satisfied and can be reasonably confident aboutthe outcome
of the rest of the weekend.”
|
